Department for Transport

Gatwick Airport Station

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 24 September (HL10300), when did the discussions about enhancing Gatwick Airport railway station begin.

baroness sugg: It is not possible to give a precise date when discussions first began about enhancing Gatwick Airport rail station. The rail industry and the Department have been aware for many years about the problems caused for passenger with heavy luggage by the limited number of lifts and escalators at the station. The current proposals to improve the station by, among others, adding more lifts and escalators, was given impetus by the interim recommendation of the Airports Commission which was subsequently accepted by the Government.

Cross Country Rail Franchise

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to postpone the letting of a new franchise for Cross Country Trains, what steps do they intend to take to reduce overcrowding across that network.

baroness sugg: Reducing overcrowding will be a key priority as we consider future options for the franchise. The Department will consider rolling stock and train service options that will reduce overcrowding, but it is too early, at present, to say what the detail of that will be.

East-West Rail Link

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 18 September (HL10098), what estimate they have made of the contribution of the East West Rail programme to annual regional economic growth.

baroness sugg: The East West Rail Company are assessing the contribution of the East West Rail programme to both regional and national economic growth. This is yet to be quantified and the work is ongoing.

Railways: Japanese Knotweed

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of the invasion of Japanese Knotweed onto railway lines; and who is responsible for meeting the costs of clearing Japanese Knotweed from railway lines.

baroness sugg: The infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, Network Rail, are responsible for assessing and meeting the costs of clearing Japanese Knotweed from railway lines. This invasive species is estimated to cost Network Rail £2.5 million each year to manage. This includes areas covered by Japanese Knotweed on the railway line and at the trackside.

Railways: North of England

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to receive a feasibility study report into the creation of a new trans-Pennine freight route between Liverpool and Yorkshire, via Burnley, Skipton and Leeds, including a reinstatement of a double-track railway between Gannow Junction and Skipton.

baroness sugg: We are working closely with Transport for the North and relevant local transport authorities to evaluate the costs, benefits and funding options for reinstating the Skipton-Colne line for passengers and freight, as part of a freight route across the Pennines. Work is advancing well and we expect to receive the results later this year in the form of a Strategic Outline Business Case prepared in line with the Government’s new pipeline approach to rail enhancements.

Department for International Development

Tanzania: Family Planning

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made or plan to make to the government of Tanzania following the banning in that country of family planning adverts by FHI 360; and what assessment they have made of reports that the President described family planning as being for those “too lazy to take care of their children”.

lord bates: Representatives of the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam remain closely engaged with the Government of Tanzania, who have provided assurances that there is no change in government policy which supports family planning. They have been told by the Tanzanian Ministry of Health that a review of mass media communication is underway and they hope to recommence airing of advertisements within the next few months.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they plan to take to send more humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen.

lord bates: The UK has been at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Yemen, helping secure vital access for food, fuel and medicine to enter the country and consistently being one of the largest donors to the crisis.On 3 April, the UK announced an additional £170 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for this financial year (2018/2019). This funding will meet immediate food needs for 2.5 million Yemenis and will bring the total UK bilateral support to Yemen to over £570 million since 2015.To date, donors have pledged a total of US$ 2.01 billion towards the United Nations 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan in Yemen.

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the UK’s bilateral aid programme is directed towards the rebuilding of Pakistan’s colony shanty towns in which families from the country’s minorities live; what assessment they have made of the number of people, in total, living in those colonies and their access to running water, electricity or education; and when officials from the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last visited those colonies to assess the conditions of people livingthere.

lord bates: Our work targets poor people in Pakistan regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. Some of the UK’s work has targeted people living in shanty towns and informal settlements. This includes emergency responses to floods, and schools for children from marginalised communities in Karachi, including minorities. We do not hold information on what percentage of the UK’s bilateral aid programme is directed towards rebuilding Pakistan’s colony shanty towns, and there have been no recent staff visits to these areas.

Overseas Aid

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their response to the International Development Committee’s reportDefinition and administration of ODA (HC 1011),whether any middle-income country on the World Bank’s list may be eligible for UK OfficialDevelopment Assistance (ODA); and which of those countries are currently in receipt of UK ODA.

lord bates: The OECD DAC determines which countries are ODA eligible based on World Bank GNI per capita data. The list of ODA eligible countries consists of all low and Middle-Income countries except for those that are members of the G8 or the European Union. The UK provided bilateral ODA through a range of government departments to the following middle-income countries in 2016:Middle Income Countries (Lower & Upper) in Receipt of 2016 bilateral UK ODAAlbaniaGabonNicaraguaAlgeriaGeorgiaNigeriaAntigua and BarbudaGhanaPakistanArgentinaGrenadaPanamaArmeniaGuatemalaPapua New GuineaAzerbaijanGuyanaParaguayBelarusHondurasPeruBelizeIndiaPhilippinesBoliviaIndonesiaSerbiaBosnia-HerzegovinaIranSeychellesBotswanaIraqSouth AfricaBrazilJamaicaSri LankaCameroonJordanSt. HelenaCape VerdeKazakhstanSt. LuciaChileKosovoSt.Vincent & GrenadinesChinaKyrgyz RepublicSwazilandColombiaLebanonSyriaCongo, Rep.LibyaThailandCosta RicaMalaysiaTunisiaCote d'IvoireMaldivesTurkeyCubaMauritiusTurkmenistanDominicaMexicoUkraineDominican RepublicMoldovaUruguayEcuadorMongoliaUzbekistanEgyptMontenegroVenezuelaEl SalvadorMontserratVietnamFijiMoroccoWest Bank & Gaza StripFormer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)Namibia  Source: Statistics on International Development 2017

UN Commission on Population and Development

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage other countries to send ministers tothe UN Commission on Population and Development in 2019.

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent International Conference on Population and Development +25 review process; and whether a minister will attend the UN Commission on Population and Development in 2019.

lord bates: The UK was pleased to be represented at the recent ICPD+25 review meeting and was delighted there was broad consensus in support of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. UK representation at the UN Commission on Population and development will be decided in due course. We would encourage all UN Member states to attend at the highest appropriate level.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Council Housing: Construction

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether local housing authorities that divested themselves of their council housing stocks in the past and closed their housing revenue accounts (HRAs) are able to set up new HRAs and build new council housing under their new proposals for lifting the cap on local authority borrowing for such purposes or otherwise.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Yes. All local housing authorities (LHA) retain the power to provide housing under Part II of the Housing Act 1985. Where they do they are under a duty to account for this in a Housing Revenue Account by section 74 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, unless that requirement is dis-applied by direction by the Secretary of State – which may be considered appropriate if the LHA only has limited housing stock.

Community Housing Fund

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will extend the Community Housing Fund beyond 31 March 2020 to enable community groups to progress and complete their current pipeline of projects.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Community Housing Fund is currently scheduled to close in March 2020, at the end of the current Spending Review period. While the Homes England programme to deliver the Fund outside London was launched relatively recently, I hope that there is still sufficient time for community-led schemes to access funding and deliver housing, although I appreciate that this will be more difficult for very new schemes. All proposals to extend the scheme beyond March 2020 will be given due consideration. Factors that will need to be taken into account in considering any extension are likely to include the value for money being achieved by the Fund and the extent to which it has been successful in increasing the number of community-led housing schemes either completed or in progress.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of the current delays in the production of written reports by the Building Research Establishment following BS8414 tests on the performance of external fire cladding systems; and what are the implications of these delays for fire safety in theUK.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government is not aware of any delays in the production of written reports by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) or any other commercial laboratories. Officials from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government are in regular contact with building owners and the wider construction industry to identify anything that might prevent remediation of buildings with potentially unsafe ACM cladding systems.

Public Houses: Non-domestic Rates

baroness rebuck: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the business rates pub relief scheme on the viability of community pubs in England; and what has been the cost of the scheme to date.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not made an assessment of the impact of the business rates pub relief scheme on the viability of community pubs in England. The Ministry will publish data on the amount of relief granted under the pubs relief scheme for 2017/18 as part of its scheduled Nation Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) statistical release due in November.

Shops: Non-domestic Rates

baroness rebuck: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of recent increases in business rates on the sustainability of local high street bookshops in England.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not made an assessment of the impact of the revaluation on bookshops. The Government has introduced a range of business rates reforms and measures to support businesses, including bookshops, worth over £10 billion by 2023.This includes, from April 2017, permanently doubling Small Business Rate Relief and raising the threshold for relief meaning that over 600,000 small businesses now pay no business rates at all, and helping all business by switching the measure of inflation, used for the indexation of rates, from Retail Price Index to Consumer Price Index.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many more homes for social rent they expect to be built following the announcement by the Prime Minister on lifting the borrowing cap for local authorities.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: It is for each local authority to determine the tenure of the homes that they build in the Housing Revenue Account. Although we have not estimated the number of homes for social rent that will be built with the removal of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap, early estimations suggest that the removal of the cap will enable local authorities to build up to 10,000 council homes per year in the short term. There is potential for ambitious council to go further over time, to provide even more homes for people in need.

Electrical Safety

lord tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of owner-occupied dwellings in England that (1) require a rewire, and (2) have residual current device protection.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Data on electrical safety of dwellings is collected in MHCLG’s English Housing Survey. The latest data (2016) is available (attached) online: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724422/DA5201_Disrepair_and_electrics_-_dwellings.xlsxThe latest data from 2016 shows that 75 per cent of owner occupied dwellings had a residual current device in a consumer unit or separate residual current devices.



Data on electrical safety
(Excel SpreadSheet, 102.12 KB)

Electrical Safety

lord tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government what grant schemes are available to home owners to improve electrical safety in their dwellings.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Department does not run any grant schemes for home owners to improve electrical safety in their dwellings.

Electrical Safety

lord tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to the merits of introducing free electrical safety checks for homes owned by people over 75.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Department has no plans to introduce free electrical safety checks for homes owned by people aged over 75.

Department of Health and Social Care

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Females

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of data collected on women's and girls' experience of the Mental Health Act 1983.

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relevance of ethnicity in (1) the numbers of BAME girls aged 17 and under who were detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, and (2) the numbers of self-inflicted deaths amongst girls and young women from BAME backgrounds.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government recognises that ethnicity and gender are factors in detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983. Data is not collected centrally on experiences of the Mental Health Act, nor is data available that shows ethnicity as a factor among the numbers of self-inflicted deaths.

Public Health: Directors

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many directors of public health there are in England; and of those directors, how many are qualified medical doctors.

lord o'shaughnessy: At the end of September 2018, there were 135 Directors of Public Health in England; 48 were registered with the General Medical Council.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of sectioned persons seek a second opinion about their treatment.

lord o'shaughnessy: The information requested is not collected.

Prescription Drugs

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued guidance on prescribing psychotropic medicines; and if so, what precautions are advised to ensure that prescribed drugs are suitable for individual patients and that their use is not unnecessarily prolonged.

lord o'shaughnessy: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued a large range of guidance covering the use of psychotropic medicines, including through its clinical guidelines programme. NICE clinical guidelines provide detailed guidance for healthcare professionals and should be taken fully into account by prescribers in the care of individual patients.NICE is also scheduled to develop a clinical guideline on the safe prescribing and withdrawal management of prescribed drugs that is expected to begin in early 2019.We have taken the term ‘psychotropic medicines’ to refer to all psychiatric medication that is used to treat mental illnesses: this includes antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilisers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: South West

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the resilience to flooding in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall; and whether this has improved since 2014.

lord gardiner of kimble: Across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, the Environment Agency and partners have successfully delivered over 80 schemes to provide better protection from river and coastal flooding to 6,300 properties since 1 April 2015. The full programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes, including schemes completed in the south west region, can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/programme-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-schemes, The flood risk management schemes in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall include a range of measures, such as property level protection, dredging, building and improving flood walls and embankments, and asset improvements and reinstatements. The government does not individually assess each council’s flooding plan.

Coastal Erosion: South West

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall since 2012.

lord gardiner of kimble: Coastal erosion is a natural process that always has and will shape our coastline. In England, District Councils (known as Coastal Protection Authorities) lead on the management of coastal erosion risk in their areas. Since 1996, coastal protection authorities have collaborated locally with a range of other interested parties to develop Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) for their coastlines. These high level plans set out a top level policy framework to manage the risk of coastal change, covering three time periods of 20, 50 and 100 years, and recommend approaches to manage the local coastline. The Environment Agency (EA) has strategic oversight for the production and quality of SMPs, and over the next three years it will be funding a refresh of the plans by coastal authorities. In England, between 2015 and 2021, the Government plans to invest £885 million in projects to manage coastal erosion and better protect communities against flooding from the sea.

Flood Control: South West

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of the arrangements between local authorities and relevant agencies to mitigate flood risks in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

lord gardiner of kimble: There are close working relationships between risk management authorities (RMAs) in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. These include the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards. Together they promote the creation, funding, and delivery of joint projects to manage flood risk. Assurance is provided through the two Regional Flood and Coastal Committees: South West covering Devon and Cornwall, and Wessex covering Somerset. The Regional Flood and Coastal Committees have membership from all relevant authorities and agencies, including County and Unitary Authorities and water companies. The RMAs also work together to deliver strategic planning policies, through influencing local and neighbourhood plans, to manage flood risk through economic growth, planning and development.Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) plan and prepare for flooding in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. The LRFs are made up of category 1 and 2 responders, including the Environment Agency, county councils, NHS, Fire and Rescue Service, police. The LRFs meet bi-annually to ensure plans and procedures are in place to respond to flooding. Plans are tested regularly through multi-agency training and exercising. The LRFs provide support to communities to prepare for flooding. During flood events, the LRFs coordinate the response. After flood events, multi-agency debriefs identify successes and areas of improvements.

Flood Control: Finance

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding has been secured through contributions for investmentin flood and coastal resilience schemes from (1) the private sector, (2) utility companies, and (3) local authorities since the start of the current six-year investment cycle.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is investing £2.6 billion to protect better the country from flooding and coastal erosion between April 2015 and March 2021. This will improve protection for 300,000 homes in that period. Since the start of the of the current six-year investment cycle the following contributions have been secured for investment in flood and coastal resilience schemes: £31 million directly from private sector – over £2 million of which comes from utility companies;£204 million from local authorities; and£119 million from local authority ‘local levy’ funding that has been allocated to specific schemes.

Food: Prices

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research conducted by Credit Suisse Bank that found that food costs would rise by 2.3per cent in a soft Brexit and by 5.6per cent ina hard Brexit.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is committed to securing the best possible deal for Britain as we leave the EU which works for farmers, food producers and consumers. Defra research has shown that currently the most important drivers of change in the cost of food are commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices. This will not change when we leave the EU. Whilst the Government does not directly control these factors, we do work closely with industry to promote transparency for consumers and play an important role internationally in promoting open global markets. This helps create a competitive domestic market so producers and retailers can offer the best prices.

Fracking

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what baseline tests are carried out at fracking sites and test sites for radiation in air and water.

lord gardiner of kimble: The environmental permits issued by the Environment Agency (EA) set out the pre-operational and operational monitoring requirements according to environmental risk. The type and period of monitoring may vary between sites, according to the sensitivity of the environment and the type and scale of activities. The permits for both the Cuadrilla and Third Energy sites required baseline monitoring of groundwater, surface water and air quality. The EA has also used its own mobile monitoring units to record ambient air quality. Since 2017 Public Health England has been undertaking background radon monitoring in air as part of a project coordinated by the British Geological Survey and funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Fracking

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is taken by the Environment Agency, and within what timescale, in the event of a pad being ruptured at a fracking site and the water going to ground.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environment Agency (EA) has the expertise and the resources to respond to any environmental incidents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If there is an incident which causes pollution of the environment, environmental damage, or if there is a breach of the permit or non-compliance with environmental legislation, the EA has a range of enforcement powers available. In the event of damage to the protective membrane on a well pad, the EA would require the operator to carry out immediate repairs and to take remedial works should any environmental damage have been caused.

Fracking

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is regular or random monitoring of the run-off areas downhill from fracking site pads to check for potential contamination caused by site operations.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environment Agency (EA) requires well pads to be constructed so that water run-off is captured on the site and does not cause pollution. The environmental permits also require operators to carry out regular monitoring of nearby surface water locations as part of agreed Emissions Monitoring Plans. The EA carries out regular inspections, audits and unannounced spot checks to ensure operators are compliant with its environmental obligations. During site inspections officers will check for leaks or spillages on the well pad surface. EA staff also carry out visual inspections off site.

Fracking

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the public are able to access all the test results from fracking sites and test sites which are reported to the Environment Agency.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environment Agency (EA) provides information through its Public Register which is available to the public at many of its offices. In some instances the EA also publishes monitoring results and details of its wider regulatory work online. An example of this for Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site can be seen at: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/onshore-oil-and-gas/information-on-cuadrillas-preston-new-road-site/

Incinerators

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current capacity for the incineration of household waste; and whether they have any plans to increase this capacity.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Department does not have the data for just household waste. In 2016, the permitted capacity was 11,359,830 tonnes across the forty energy from waste plants treating ‘municipal and/or commercial & industrial waste’. There are currently eleven further plants in construction and two consented. These are forecast to be operational by 2020.